Earpiece ban overshadows Tour duel

Posted: Wednesday, July 15, 2009

ISSOUDUN, France - Teammates Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong remained second and third in the Tour de France after a technology-free day of riding in which Britain's Mark Cavendish won the 10th stage.

Organizers banned rider earpieces for Tuesday's 121-mile route, forcing cyclists to devise tactics without radio instructions from team cars.

Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy kept the leader's yellow jersey on a flat route favoring sprinters. Contador crossed the line in 40th place. Armstrong, the seven-time champion, finished in the main pack at 46th. Overall, Nocentini stayed six seconds ahead of Contador and eight in front of Armstrong.

Armstrong is coming out of 3½ years of retirement and chasing an eighth Tour title. Contador is aiming for a second title after winning in 2007. The Spanish mountain specialist was unable to defend his title last year because his Astana team was barred from the race because of doping scandals.

Cavendish edged Thor Hushovd of Norway in a sprint finish, breaking ahead in the final 200 yards. It was the British sprinter's third stage victory of this Tour and seventh of his career. Tyler Farrar of the United States finished third.

"It was a really hard finish, slightly uphill with a lot of corners," said Cavendish, who rides for Team Columbia-High Road, said. "I was scared that I attacked too early but (teammate Mark) Renshaw helped me a lot."

The Tour hoped to inject drama into this race by eliminating earpieces in the 10th and 13th stages. Many riders - Armstrong, Contador and Nocentini among them - criticized the decision.

"I think that for us and for the whole team it is not a good thing," Nocentini said. "We spoke about the earpieces before the start. The fact is for us it's dangerous not to have them. There are dangers on the road."

Armstrong joked about the matter as he got off his Astana team bus and mounted his bike to go to the start line.

With the backing of the cycling's governing body, Tour organizers decided last month that rider radios and TV sets in cars would be banned for two stages. Earlier in the race, Bruyneel said the Tour was not the place for such an "experiment."

Earpieces allow riders to be linked to directors in team cars. Riders can be informed of developments and told when they need to attack or chase riders in a breakaway.